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A New Windsor cab driver pleaded guilty Monday to raping two young women he picked up as fares in the City of Newburgh, according to Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler.

Javier Alexander Vilchez Salazar, 34, admitted that on Nov. 12, 2017, he was driving a cab by the waterfront in Newburgh when he picked up a young woman who was looking for a cab to take her home. He said instead of driving her home, he took her to the vicinity of Lake Street in the Town of New Windsor and raped her, the DA's Office said.

He also admitted that on Sept. 3, 2017, he picked up a different young woman by the waterfront in Newburgh, who similarly was looking for a cab to take her home. Instead, he said he took the woman to Lake Street in New Windsor and raped her.

During his plea, the District Attorney’s Office stated that it would be recommending that he be sentenced to 21 years in state prison and 10 years post-release supervision when he is sentenced on May 3.

District Attorney Hoovler thanked the City of Newburgh Police Department, the Town of New Windsor Police Department, the New York State Police and an Orange County District Attorney’s Office Investigator for the investigation of the case. Vilchez Salazar was arrested on Nov. 25, 2017, by the City of Newburgh Police Department.

“I commend the police officers whose investigation stopped this defendant from continuing these heinous predatory attacks on unsuspecting women who were merely trying to get home safely,” said Hoovler. “The bravery and tenacity of the survivors of these attacks in coming forward and cooperating with law enforcement is to be admired and was indispensable to the successful prosecution of this case."

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Kerry Kolek.